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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778842">Emotionalize</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSpeechlessx/pseuds/xSpeechlessx'>xSpeechlessx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thicker than Blood [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Epithet Erased (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Actually Sylvie's parents suck too, Blood, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Crappy dad, FIC IS COMPLETE, Found Family, Gen, Hope you enjoy!!, Hurt/Comfort, I'm so happy, Im baacckkk, Just a smidge of blood, Martin Sucks!, May tag AU later, Minor Violence, Molly!, My first completed multi chapter fic!!!, On to my bigger project now!, So does Lorilea!, These were written before anything was revealed about Giovanni and Sylvie's parents, Will also be adding tags as they are needed, Will see you in a few weeks with that!, With a whole new fic, also!!, first up, love me some light angst, non Canon, the baby!, they play a very minor role here though, this is about the trio comforting each other through emotional conflicts, this was fun to write, to edit and make sure there is no mistakes, will be posting chapters a few days apart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:01:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,710</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778842</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSpeechlessx/pseuds/xSpeechlessx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>emo·tion·al·ize<br/>transitive verb:   to give an emotional quality </p><p>A series of one shots detailing the Museums Trios missing family members and how they filled the gaps with each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Molly Blyndeff &amp; Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling &amp; Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling &amp; Molly Blyndeff, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling &amp; Molly Blyndeff &amp; Giovanni Potage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thicker than Blood [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>173</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Melancholy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here we go! The next installment of Thicker Than. I am very excited to begin posting this and I hope you all enjoy reading it! See you at the end!  Too Far (For Now) doesn't have to be read to understand but will give better context for chapter 2.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Molly reminisces.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Melancholy: having a feeling of melancholy; sad and pensive.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Giovanni strolls down the street, his hands stuffed in his pocket to stave the cold nipping at his fingers; he kicks a stray rock out of his path as he saunters casually down the almost empty sidewalk. Today, he was meeting at the toy store to meet up with Molly for some secret meeting. She had called him a few days ago, stammering that she wanted to take him somewhere special, and that she wanted to meet up early before abruptly hanging up before he could ask for an explanation. What a day though; he glances up and sees the dark clouds overhead, that coupled with the freezing weather made for a pretty miserable outing, but his littlest minion had asked him for him to come. What was he gonna do? Say no? Fat chance.</p><p>Turning the last corner before reaching the store he tilts his head as he spots his second littlest minion, a.k.a. his most obnoxious minion, a.k.a. Sylvester Ashling standing outside the shop. Him standing there wasn’t what was weird though, it was the fact that the kid was just looking up at the apartment windows above the toy store that makes him wonder just what hell he was doing.</p><p>As he gets closer, he sees the that the kid is upset about something, his shoulders are stiff and he’s wringing his hands in front of him nervously. His brow is creased uncertainly and he’s biting his lip. </p><p>“Kid?”</p><p>Starting, Sylvie turns to look at him in surprise. “Giovanni? What are you doing here?”</p><p>He shrugs. “Probably same reason as you. Bear Trap asked me to come over.” He leans down to look at the apartment from Sylvie’s angle. “What’re you lookin’ at kid? Can’t imagine you can see much from here.” </p><p>Sylvie gives him a look but doesn’t comment on the ‘kid’ remark, or just doesn’t seem to care. “Can’t you hear it?”</p><p>He raises an eyebrow incredulously. “Hear what exactly? Maybe we should head inside. It already looks like its abo-”</p><p>“Shhh…” Sylvie hisses at him before turning to look up at the windows again. “Just listen”</p><p>Sighing, Giovanni turns to listen as well, straining his ears to hear above the traffic rushing by. He hears nothing at first, but just as he’s about to speak again, he hears it. Yelling. </p><p>“The hell?” he mutters under his breath.</p><p>Stepping closer he strains to hear from the upstairs; the sounds come in varying volumes that spike with every other word. From the continuous stream of yelling he makes out few words; with only “stop” and “no” being close to decipherable. He strains to listen for a bit longer before shaking his head, turning to look back at Sylvie; he thrusts his head to the front door of the shop. “Think it’s about time we head in?”</p><p>Sylvie still looks uncertain, but nods. “Yes.”</p><p>With that, they both turn and swing the glass door of the shop open. A bell sounds but no one is around to greet them. Sharing a look, they ignore the front desk and head straight for the stairs that lead to the upstairs. </p><p>“Wait!” </p><p>Giovanni looks back to see Sylvie darting back to the door to turn the lock; with a sound click he flips the open sign before flitting back to Giovanni. He shrugs at the questioning look he gives him. “Obviously no one’s down here. Better to be safe than risk the store being robbed.”</p><p>With nothing to say, he nods at the explanation before turning back to the stairs. Now that they’re in the store the yelling has spiked even further in volume. With each step, the conversation becomes clearer. </p><p>“Why…always…. like this!” </p><p>“That sounded like Molly.” Sylvie says softly.</p><p>“Don’t think I’ve ever heard her sound angry like that…” Giovanni trails off quietly. They stomp the rest of the way up the stairs. A few feet away was the door to the apartment, and outside of it sat Mr. Blyndeff. </p><p>Groaning internally, Giovanni rolls his eyes and walks to stand in front of the man who was sitting with his back against the door enraptured by a phone in his hands. “Oi!”</p><p>The man doesn’t seem to hear him, and only continues to play on the tiny device as bright colors flash across his face as whatever game he’s playing continues. Giovanni feels his already thin patience begin to fade as he stands in front of the oblivious man. </p><p>“Hey! What’s goin’ on here?” Giovanni asks.</p><p>With still no reaction, Giovanni snatches the phone from him, his patience worn away, forcing Martin to finally look up at him. </p><p>“Heeeyyy!” Martin whines as he attempts to reach for the device. </p><p>Giovanni grits his teeth to keep himself from snapping back. “What the hell are you doing?” </p><p>Martin lazily leans back against the door. “The girls are arguing again. I can’t play my game with all the noise, so I came out here instead.”</p><p>Sylvie walks up before Giovanni can snap at the man and quirks his eyebrow. “Why don’t you just play downstairs?”</p><p>“Well then someone might come in and then how would I play if people keep bothering me?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Serve them? Isn’t the toy store how you make money?” Sylvie had an irritated edge to his tone but kept a level voice. He was no more patient with the ignorant man than Giovanni but figured arguing with him would get them nowhere.</p><p>The blonde groans. “I’ve had to cover at least 4 shifts this week!” he crosses his arms like a child and pouts. “Molly’s been saying no whenever I ask her to help out.”</p><p>“Well, maybe you shouldn’t place all of your financial reliance on a twelve-year-old?” Sylvie bites back.</p><p>At this point there was a sudden shout from inside the apartment. “Stop!” could be heard before a loud crash sounded. Sharing a sharp look with Sylvie, Giovanni steps forward to open the door. “Move.” He says, voice dangerously low.</p><p>Martin simply waves his hand causally. “I wouldn’t bother. They’ll tire out eventually.”</p><p>Just as he’s about to snarl some unsavory insults and where he’ll shove his foot if he doesn’t move right now, another crash sounds from inside followed closely by a shout; this time Giovanni doesn’t bother telling him to move, grabbing the knob he shoves the door open and lets it bang against the wall. With a yelp Martin falls backwards into the apartment and lands on his back. Giovanni nimbly jumps over him with Sylvie following close behind; together they follow the sounds of shouts and shattering objects.</p><p>Skidding around the corner Giovanni freezes at what he sees. All around the room is pieces of broken furniture. Glass litters most of the floor and large pieces of wood lay haphazardly around. In the corner is Molly with her back to them; she’s hunched over and is murmuring at something gently. </p><p>He takes a cautious step forward and calls to her softly. “Bear Trap?”</p><p>She starts before turning to look at them. Her eyes are slightly bloodshot, and it looks as if she had been crying. “Sylvie, Boss?” looking around in slight panic and embarrassment she quickly makes her way over to them. She herds them out swiftly before speaking again. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>Her voice is hoarse as if she had been yelling for a while, which didn’t seem too farfetched considering the argument they heard from downstairs. </p><p>“You asked us to come. Don’t you remember?” Sylvie says with a concerned tilt of his head.</p><p>“I- yes!” she perks up. “Let me get you something to drink!” she turns towards where they assume her kitchen is while she starts to pick her way across the destroyed family room.</p><p>“Bear Trap.” Giovanni snags her shoulder and stops her while she continues to ramble.</p><p>“And-and uh, are you hungry? We have some snacks but it-it-“ she stammers.</p><p>“Molly.”</p><p>Giovanni rarely used her name nowadays, choosing instead to refer to her as her fondly dubbed nickname. He only used it when he was serious, or really needed her attention. It seemed to be the latter this time, if the hard stare he was giving her was any indication. Closing her mouth with a resounding snap she looks up at Giovanni, giving him her full attention. </p><p>He kneels down to get on her level and places his hands on her shoulders. “Now, tell me what happened. We heard yelling…and stuff breaking.”</p><p>She looks like she’s trying to keep it together, holding back frustrated tears that were threatening to spill over any moment. Nervously wringing the hem of her coat, she looks away from him and nods. “They wanted me to watch the store today,” she mumbles.</p><p>“Yes, your father said you weren’t doing it anymore,” Sylvie pipes up. “Is that why you were fighting?”</p><p>She gives another small nod. “When I told Lorilea she got really mad. She said I was being selfish and that I should help out more.”</p><p>Giovanni tightens his grip on her shoulders but hastily loosens it when she looks up at him in concern. “Sorry, keep going.”</p><p>“Well, I said I’d been doing it by myself for years and-and-and todays different! I said I had something else to do and she started yelling and then I started yelling and then it got really bad!” she takes a breath before continuing softer. “I told her I wasn’t staying and that either her or dad was gonna have to watch the store. She summoned her epithet and it just,” she gestures behind her, “started destroying everything. I had to use hushaby, but it still wrecked everything!” she sniffs, “I couldn’t even find dad and Lorilea just went to her room.”</p><p>Giovanni feels another hard spike of anger stab his heart at the mention of her father. “Yeah we found your dad out in the hall.” He stands and glares back at the door. “He was saying it was too loud.”</p><p>She sighs and rubs her eyes, wiping away the fallen tears that had stained her cheeks. “Yeah, that’s pretty typical of dad. I guess I should clean before we go, just give me a minute, there’s soda in the fridge if you’re thirsty.” She turns to tend to the destroyed room but is stopped by Giovanni grabbing her arm.</p><p>“Fuck that!” Pulling her back he begins to gently pull her towards the door. “Your sister made the mess; she can clean it up!” </p><p>“But-”</p><p>“He’s correct, that’s basic disciplinary instruction, even for someone as old as she is.” Sylvie cuts off her objection. “If you clean it, it will only enable her behavior.”</p><p>“Yeah, but…“</p><p>“No ‘buts’ Bear Trap! You made plans today, so your sister can deal with the mess.” Once they reach the door, he steps out in the hall dragging Molly behind him. Looking left and right he doesn’t spot Martin anywhere. “Where’d that deadbeat go?”</p><p>“He probably went back to his room after we stopped arguing.” she mumbles.</p><p>“Yeah? Well good riddance. I was probably gonna throw him down the stairs if I saw ‘im again anyway.”</p><p>“Giovanni!” she gently scolds him gently. “We’ve been over this you can’t assault my dad whenever you want!”</p><p>“Yeah, well!” he huffs. “I’ll just make do with stealing his stuff every time I come over!” </p><p>He smirks when this causes her to giggle. “Are you the one taking his socks?”</p><p>“I will neither deny nor confirm.” Looking at her from the corner of his eye he sees her giving him a stern look, but still not quite covering the smile that had crossed her face at the reveal. “Sleeper helped.”</p><p>Sylvie squawks when she whips around to look at him. “Don’t just throw me under the bus!”</p><p>“Sylvie! You’re supposed to be the responsible one!”</p><p>“He said he’d give them back! I swear!”</p><p>“Sylvie!”</p><p>Giovanni smirks as the pair begin to bicker, relived as Molly seems to relax the farther they get from the toy store. As they make their way down the stairs his mind wanders back to the wrecked house. He frowns slightly, she really shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of crap. </p><p>Arriving at the door he unlocks it and pushes it open for the other two. “How d’ya guys feel about ice cream?” </p><p>They stop their bickering at the suggestion, “Isn’t it a little cold for ice cream?” Sylvie asks. </p><p>Giovanni shrugs, “S’never too cold for ice cream.” He turns to look at Molly, “It’s up to you kid. What d’ya say?”</p><p>She tilts her head slightly as she looks up at him. Her normally bright green eyes are a little dull. “I don’t care where we go. I just want to go.”</p><p>“Ice cream it is then!” he turns on his heel and starts marching away. </p><p>They watch him walk for a bit before sharing a look, shrugging, and trotting after him; they fall in step beside him and walk in comfortable silence.</p><p>After a moment, Giovanni breaks the quiet. “Sooo.” His breath billows out in front of him when he speaks. With his hands shoved deep in his bomber jacket pockets he turns and look at Molly as they walk. “Y’wanna tell us why you wanted us to come out here?”</p><p>She doesn’t say anything, instead she focuses her attention on the sidewalk with a small frown. Her eyes are shaded as she refuses to look at either of them.  Sylvie thinks of saying something but decides against it in the end; As much as he hated to admit it, Giovanni was generally better at these types of things, especially when it was Molly he was dealing with. </p><p>Giovanni raises an eyebrow before prodding her gently with his elbow. “Ya okay Bear Trap?”</p><p>She sighs quietly before finally looking up, “Todays the day my mom died.” She says it quietly, almost inaudibly. “That’s why me and Lori were fighting…she always get upset around this time of year.” She looks down with another sigh. “I shouldn’t have argued. I should have just done what she wanted.”</p><p>“No, kid.” Giovanni stops her gently. “Just ‘cause she gets upset doesn’t mean you should shove all your feelings to the side for her. You get to be upset too.” </p><p>“I know…I just...” She trails off.</p><p>“Yeah kid?” he urges after a few moments of silence.</p><p>She looks down with an almost angry look. “I just...hate today.” She heaves an exhausted sigh, “Every year it’s like this, they pretend it doesn’t matter but I know it does. Lori get mad and disappears and dad refuses to do anything. I just, for once, wanted to see my friends today. I didn’t want to watch the store.” She sniffs and looks at them. “But they always say no. I can’t do what I want or I’m being selfish! They’re the only ones who’re allowed to want, I have to be happy with the scraps.” Her tone suddenly shifts into something angrier. “I can’t do homework; I can’t see my friends outside of school! I just-just hate-“</p><p>Giovanni gestures for her to keep going as she trails off. It feels as if all of her pent-up anger and frustration was finally being allowed to be let out.</p><p>“I hate that dad and Lori won’t even talk about what happened!” she snaps. She suddenly stops walking and Giovanni and Sylvie stumble to a stop a little ways behind her to keep from running into her. “I hate that I have to make sure we eat. I hate that I have to our taxes,” she begins to list off her fingers, “our bills, our supplies, our-our-our everything!” she throws her arms out for emphasis. “But mostly,” even with her back to them they know she’s crying, “I hate that mom died.” she hiccups softly and wipes her sleeve across her face in frustration before wrapping her arms around herself. “I just want things to go back to normal…We used to be happy, I remember, I don’t know how it fell apart, but it did. And I have to pick up the pieces.”</p><p>Giovanni says nothing as she rants, her small shoulders heaving with each exclamation. He gestures for Sylvie to stay put and gives the ginger a soft look before looking back at Molly. Only once she finishes, does he tentatively step forward. He walks around her and comes to a stop in front of her, quietly and without saying anything she leans forward so her head rests against his stomach. He gently places his arms around her and lets her cry. “I know it sucks, kid.” He speaks quietly “I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone like that, but I know what it’s like for someone to be gone…” he looks up and beckons Sylvie over with a jerk of his head as he keeps talking. “I know things suck at home and you feel alone but ya know what?” </p><p>She looks up at him; a few tears are still streaking down her face. “What?” she sniffs. </p><p>“You’ve got us. Family is more than who you’re related to, and you and him are definitely part of mine.”</p><p>She looks a bit surprised and a little relieved at the revelation. “That’s so cheesy, boss.” she croaks with a small sigh as she once again rests against his stomach and loops her arms around his middle. “Thank you,” He hears her mumble against the fabric of his shirt.</p><p>Giovanni looks up at Sylvie. “You wanna get in on this hug or what kid?”</p><p>Sylvie clears his throat a little and shakes his head once before stepping back. “Uh, no thank you. This looks like more of a moment for you two.”</p><p>Giovanni cocks an eyebrow and looks down at Molly. She give him a teary, exasperated look before she turns to look at the ginger standing to the side. She quickly grabs his wrist and pulls him into the hug before he can protest. Just as quickly Giovanni loops an arm around him, and Molly does the same on his other side before he can even think about backing away. “Too bad. Now this is a moment between all three of us,” she sniffs again. </p><p>He looks slightly embarrassed but doesn’t pull away, and hesitantly loops an arm around both of them. “I think we’re blocking the sidewalk.” He mumbles as he stoops his head down.</p><p>“Eh, they can walk around.” Giovanni sticks his tongue out at a man passing that was giving them a strange look. “They’re just jealous.”</p><p>*************************************************************************************</p><p>They stand in their little group hug longer than strictly necessary, allowing Molly to calm down and dry her tears, before breaking apart.  Leaning against the building that they had stopped in front of Giovanni considers the duo in front of him. “Ya still want that ice cream Bear Trap?” </p><p>She shakes her head slightly and looks at him. She looks better now that her eyes are a little brighter and her voice is no longer dull. “Actually, I had something I wanted all of us to do today.” She grabs both of their hands and leads them down the opposite direction they came from, settling between both their lanky forms. “Every year, I visit my mom’s grave. I want you guys to come with me this time.”</p><p>Sylvie gives her a confused look. “Why?”</p><p>“Well…” she looks at the sky and begins swinging their arms back and forth. “I want to introduce you guys. She knew Trixie and Pheonicia before she died.” She gives a small shrug while still swinging their arms. “I wanted to introduce you guys too, I guess. You’re just as much my family as they are so I figured it was time.” She suddenly stops swinging their hands and quietly asks, “Unless you don’t want too?”</p><p>Giovanni and Sylvie share a look before Giovanni squeezes her hand comfortingly. “If it’s important to you kid than its important to us. Just lead the way.”</p><p>She looks up at them appreciably before releasing their hands to hop forward to walk in front of them. </p><p>They walk in comfortable silence like before, when Sylvie pipes up. “Should we bring something?” he points at the building they’re passing, “We can buy some flowers from here.”</p><p>She glances up at the building, before nodding enthusiastically. She turns and pushes the door open, holding it open for her companions to enter. A bell hanging from the door announces their presence and a small plump woman with a small array of tiny multicolored flowers dotting her dark brown hair greets them from behind the counter. “Welcome! What may I help you with?” looking around they spot no flowers in the shop, only an assortment of pots and gardening supplies can be found. </p><p>“Do you, uh, sell flowers?” Molly asks</p><p>The woman smiles warmly and gestures them over. “Certainly!” Taking a pot and some soil she places her hands over the pot. They begin to emit a warm red color as she closes her eyes and breathes deeply. Suddenly, bright red poppies flourish from beneath her hands.</p><p>“You have an epithet!” Sylvie exclaims.</p><p>She nods as she cuts the flowers and places them in a vase next to her. “I can make whatever type of flower you want. So, what would you like?”</p><p>Giovanni and Sylvie turn to Molly. She thinks for a moment before stepping forward, she toys with the hem of her coat and looks up at the woman. “Can you make dahlias?” the woman nods and soon a bundle of the flowers sprout from under her hands in an assortment of colors. As she works on cutting and wrapping the flowers in a ribbon, she makes small talk. “Any reason why you chose dahlias sweetie?”</p><p>Molly peers over the counter to watch the woman work. “My mom used to give them to me and my sister on out birthdays. She’d wrap them up with our presents and braid them into our hair.”</p><p>The woman smiles as she finishes wrapping the flowers and hands them to Molly. “These are an excellent gift; they’re symbolize a lasting bond between people and are meant to be given to someone you’ll treasure always.”</p><p>Molly says nothing, but her eyes mist a bit as she clutches the flowers to her chest, “Thank you.” Molly says softly, “How much?”</p><p>“10 dollars for the bundle, darling.” </p><p>Before Molly can reach for her wallet Sylvie steps forward and puts down his card. “This should cover it.”</p><p>“Sylvie, no!” she reaches forward to pull the card back, but he stops her.</p><p>“I can cover 10 dollars Molly.”</p><p>“But-“</p><p>“No ‘buts’!” He says, sounding oddly like Giovanni earlier, he nods at the cashier and she swipes the card. </p><p>As they step outside with their haul, Molly stops and divides the flowers into three bundles and hands some to Sylvie and Giovanni. “You didn’t have to pay for these.” </p><p>He huffs and crosses his arms, careful not to crush the delicate flowers. “Let me do something nice.”</p><p>“Yeah Bear Trap!” Giovanni leans against Sylvie shoulder. “Let the kid be nice for once.”</p><p>Sylvie gives an offended scoff. “Hey! I can be nice!” he jerks away under the heavier man’s weight so Giovanni is forced to stumble to catch himself. </p><p>“Yeah. Real nice.” Giovanni mumbles under his breath.</p><p>Sylvie pouts but quickly drops it when he feels Giovanni give him a small shove.  “Okay, okay. You can be nice. You don’t need to sulk.”</p><p>“Guuuyys.” Molly suddenly cuts off any reply Sylvie would have made. “C’mon. Let’s go!” she looks up at the dark sky. “It’s supposed to rain soon!”</p><p>“Fine, fine.” Sylvie sticks out his tongue at Giovanni before turning to catch up with Molly.</p><p>They walk down the sidewalk in a somewhat happy mood. They joke and shove each other as they dodge anyone else who was on the street.  The other two walk slightly behind Molly as she leads them to their destination, but upon reaching it they all stop; in the front Molly stands and looks up at a large metal sign. “Sweet Jazz City Cemetery” it read in elegant lettering.  </p><p>The graveyard is slightly covered in a fine mist that swirls eerily around. She takes a deep breath that fogs out in front of her before pushing the gate open with a high-pitched squeak. She looks back at them as she holds the door open. “This is it.” They sidestep any gravestone in their way as Molly leads them through the barren landscape. All the grass is dead, and the trees are withered due to the winter cold. </p><p>Giovanni looks around, as far as he can see, which wasn’t very far considering the thick fog swirling around them, there nothing but gravestones. For the fifth time today, he glances up at the sky and grimaces; the rain wasn’t too far off now. What were they going to do if it starts raining? He’s so caught up in his own thoughts he doesn’t notice that they’ve stopped until he runs into Sylvie. He stumbles back a bit and Sylvie turns to give him a confused look. He shrugs in reply and turns to look at Molly. She’s standing in front of a grave, marked with a simple gravestone. Two large stone roses rest at the top of the head stone, leaning closer Giovanni reads.</p><p>Laura Blyndeff<br/>
Loving mother and wife<br/>
19xx-20xx</p><p>“This is it.” Molly says as she drops down to sit in front of the stone. She places her flowers in front of her and sits back. Sylvie and Giovanni follow suite and place their flowers down too. The atmosphere is heavy as they sit together in silence.</p><p>Finally, Sylvie breaks it first. “What was she like?” he asks delicately.</p><p>Molly smiles, her eyes already beginning to water again, “She was…amazing. Funny. She kept us together, we were…so, so happy.” He sniffs loudly, and scrubs her face roughly with her sleeve, “The fire took… everything. But we could have lived without it. Mom though, I would give anything to have her back. Even if I could just say goodbye.” She began to let the tears fall freely, as she spoke softly, but firmly.</p><p>Sylvie sucks in a sharp breath at the revelation and moves to stand but a hand on his shoulder shoves him back down before he can rise. He looks over to see Giovanni giving him a pointed look and a sharp shake of his head. Sylvie gives him a helpless look and Giovanni nods in Molly’s direction. He sighs before shrugging off the hand. “Molly, I’m so sor- “</p><p>She whips around to look at him, leveling a stern finger. “No, no apologizing!”</p><p>Taken aback he stammers, “But I used fire! I att-”</p><p> “I know.” She cuts him off and turns around so she’s facing the gravestone again. “I already forgave you.” She sighs and continues. “I wasn’t going to, but then you tried to save me from Mera. You even lost your epithet because if it.” She picks up two flowers from the pile and turns to look at them. </p><p>“I was going to use you. I needed your help and after you attacked us, I was…angry. But you proved you were really my friend after that fight.”  She gently threads one flower behind his ear before turning to do the same to Giovanni. “That woman at the flower shop said these were for people you care about, people you share a bond with. That’s what I have with you guys. And Phoenicia and Trixie. You’re my family. I know you’re sorry Sylvie, so, please, you don’t need to apologize.”</p><p>She finishes tucking the flowers in their hair and leans back to examine them. Sylvie looks surprised and gently touches the flower in his hair. He frowns but doesn’t speak as he discreetly sniffs. “Thank you.”</p><p>She smiles but doesn’t have time to respond as she feels something being placed into her hair. Looking up she sees that Giovanni had tucked a flower behind her ear as well. She touches it and gives him a confused look. </p><p>“Now we all match.” He say jokingly as he gently ruffles her hair. “Don’t forget you’re important to us too kiddo.”</p><p>She toys with the flower for a moment as she looks between them. She feels a warm feeling spread in her chest as she regards them. Up to this point it had only been Trixie and Phoenicia that seemed to care about her; now though, she had plenty of people she considered family and people who considered her family, people who wanted her around and cared about her. She lost a lot when her mother died, more than she should have, but she was slowly taking it back. </p><p>“I know.” She sniffs. She wasn’t too far from crying either. With one last look at the pair she turns back to the grave, and gently places what was left of the bouquet in front of the stone.</p><p>As she feels her companions settle on either side of her she begins to speak, “Hey mom. I want you to meet two really special people.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rebuff</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylvie thinks it's about time to let go.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey there, it's a new chapter just in time for the weekend! Just a little note I wanted to throw out real quick is that it's my personal headcannon that Sylvie's parents abandoned him. I know nothing about Anime Campaign and whether or not it's even mentioned, but I have no way of knowing what the truth is. Please don't yell at me if this incorrect! Please! I'm weak!</p><p>Enjoy!</p><p>Rebuff: reject (someone or something) in an abrupt or ungracious manner.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sighing heavily through his nose, Sylvie leans back in his chair once again, glaring at the roof of his bedroom. He crumples the sheet of paper in his hand, tossing it haphazardly over his shoulder, before ripping a fresh page from his notebook. He leans forward and places the tip of the pen down carefully and, taking a deep breath, he begins again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Mom and Dad,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How are you? I’m doing fine…I’ve been needing to talk to you, but I know you’re busy…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sylvie cringes and groans in frustration before pushing away from his desk. He stretches, allowing his stiff muscles to loosen and relax. He looks around his room tiredly, with the curtains drawn the only source of light came from the flickering candle on his desk. Even so, the mess is obvious.</p><p> </p><p>All around him there’s crumpled papers, overflowing the trash, littering the bed, and randomly scattered on the floor. He holds his latest attempt up, what was he thinking?</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh, daddy, mommy, how are you? It’s just the son you abandoned!</em> He begins to rip the paper up in frustration. <em>No one important. Just another hindrance on your life!</em></p><p> </p><p>Breathing heavily, he looks down at the mess he’d made, the shredded bits of paper littering his already messy floor and desk. “Well, that didn’t help anything.” he points out to the silent, <em>empty</em> room.  He rubs his aching eyes before leaning forward again to start a new page. He wasn’t sending this letter to see how they were doing; this was for him. No matter how hard it was, he was going to have to get it done.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, he picks up the pen and reaches forward, fingers searching for the pad of paper he kept handy by his desk. His fingers scrape bare cardboard, instead of the paper he was expecting. He groans and lets his head softly bang against the desk. “Really!?” rolling his eyes he stands in defeat and begins looking for another pad of paper. He shoves books out of the way, opens and slams drawers closed, and even looks under the bed. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Great. He was going to have to go out.</p><p> </p><p>He pushes himself to his feet and stomps over to the bedroom door. Swinging it open, he squints at the brightness seeping in from the open curtains before stepping out. He grabs his coat and reluctantly heads out the front door. Why was this so difficult? It was just one stupid letter, nothing more, for goodness sake!</p><p> </p><p><em>It’s not just any letter though, is it?</em> A small voice whispers in the back of his head obnoxiously.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, it is!” he snaps. An old lady gives him a strange look as she passes, and he quickly snaps his mouth shut. He feels his face heat up considerably and rushes the rest of the way out of the building. Once outside he stops and lets the sun warm his face for a moment, and feeling the breeze gently brush his bangs. It was such a nice day. He hadn’t realized how cooped up he was feeling in his apartment until now.  Letting out a heavy sigh through his nose he turns and begins to make his way to the closest convenience store.</p><p> </p><p>He arrives not too long later. It was more of a crafts store than anything, but they did have paper he could use. Besides this was the closest store and he really just wanted to get home so he could finish his letter and be done with it.</p><p> </p><p>A small chime plays overhead as he steps inside. From the front of the store he scans the aisles, squinting to pinpoint the location of their paper products.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello!”</p><p> </p><p>Sylvie jumps when the sudden chirpy and loud voice greets him. He turns and comes face to face with a young woman, her hands folded in front of her politely. Smiling brightly, she asks, “Would you like some help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, um yes.” He stutters slightly, “I’m looking for writing paper?”</p><p> </p><p>She nods and excitedly begins to lead him through the store. “Right this way! Now, what kind of paper were you looking for exactly? We have a large selection for anyone’s needs! There’s uncoated and coated, fine paper, specialty paper, you name it! Would you like a design on it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um, just plain? Please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, but what brand? What color? How thick?”</p><p> </p><p>He begins to feel overwhelmed by this woman’s chipper attitude. “I don’t know! I just want plain paper for a letter!”  he grabs a random pad from the shelf next to him. “This one?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, but sir that couldn’t possibly be good enough.”</p><p> </p><p>He gives her an unimpressed look. “And why is that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Look at it, it’s much too thick for a proper letter! These would be much better suited!” She points out a stack of parchment bound in a thick envelope. He leans in to inspect it, picking one up, he notes the detailed insignia on the front. He glances down at the prices and jumps back in surprise at the absurd tag.</p><p> </p><p>“30 dollars for 10 sheets!? No thank you!” he drops the parchment back into the stack and turns to examine the cheaper options when the woman slips from behind him to block his path.</p><p> </p><p>She leans in with a smile and tries to usher him back. “But sir! Its such quality paper! You said you were sending a letter, right? Well just think of how impressed the recipient would be to receive such excellent paper. You want them to be impressed, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hardly.” He mutters under his breath before addressing the woman. “I said no thank you. Please move so I can make my purchase and go.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you aren’t interested in that brand, we have a slightly lesser quality paper right here.” The woman insists, trying to direct him back. “It won’t look as nice but surely it will still fit your needs.”</p><p> </p><p>He sighs in exasperation as he feels his frustration build. All he wanted was to get some paper and go home. He opens his mouth to tell the woman to move again when he’s cut off by a voice behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Sylvie?”</p><p> </p><p>He snaps to look over when he hears his name and finds Molly standing at the end of the aisle giving him a vaguely concerned look. “Molly?”</p><p> </p><p>He gives the employee an only slightly sincere apologetic look. “Thank you for your help, but I believe I can find what I’m looking for on my own.” He says shortly before turning away to make his way over to Molly.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh! But I think I can still help you find the perfect product!” the woman calls from behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“No thank you!” He calls over his shoulder. Once he reaches Molly he hisses under his breath. “Help!”</p><p> </p><p>Her concern melts into amusement as she turns and addresses the woman who had trailed behind him. “If you’re looking for someone to help, there was an old woman that looked like she was having trouble reaching some paints on the acrylic aisle. Maybe you could help? I would hate for her to try and get it herself and get hurt or even break the paints trying to reach them.” She says sweetly.</p><p> </p><p>The woman pales a bit before quickly stepping around the pair in panic. “I’ll be right back to help, sir. Just wait right there!”</p><p> </p><p>Once she’s out of sight Sylvie sighs in relief before turning to Molly. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>She giggles before grabbing his arm so he would follow. Before exiting the aisle, he snags a cheap pad of paper, before allowing the young girl to pull him away. “No problem. The workers here can be a little pushy.”</p><p> </p><p>“I noticed, why are you all the way out here? Aren’t we at least a 25-minute walk from your house?”</p><p> </p><p>She nods. “Yeah, but me and Giovanni like to get our supplies from here. We’re just getting yarn right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“’We? Wait does that mean-”</p><p> </p><p>“Bear Traaappp.” A voice sings a few aisles away. Sylvie sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose as Giovanni steps around the corner with his arms full of yarn. “Don’t just walk away, I need you to help me find a good color.” His eye catches on Sylvie and he grins. “Sleeper! You look like hell!”</p><p> </p><p>“Great to see you too, Giovanni.” Sylvie snipes back, he glances at Molly doubtfully. She gives him an apologetic smile before nodding uncertainly.</p><p> </p><p>“You do look a little…out of it.” She says delicately.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s putting it nicely.” Giovanni placed the yarn down, piling it onto a shelf carelessly, to meet the pair. “You look like you haven’t slept in 3 days. What’ve you been doin’ anyways? Last we heard from you, you were saying you had to quote ‘Tie up loose ends.’ Thought you went and killed someone.” He leans forward looking him up and down with his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “Still not sure if you did or not…”</p><p> </p><p>Sylvie shoves him away. “No, I didn’t kill anyone! I was just trying to deal with a personal matter.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh. Just let us know if you need any help,” He winks at him with air quotations, “with your ‘personal matter’.”</p><p> </p><p>He lets out a long-suffering groan before looking back at Molly. “Thank you for the help, but I really have to go.” He gives Giovanni a pointed look before continuing. “I’m trying to finish a letter.”</p><p> </p><p>“A letter, huh? Why don’t you, I don’t know…use your phone? Ya know, instant and easy-to-use device that fits in most pockets?”</p><p> </p><p>He doesn’t say anything for a moment. He looks down and rolls the idea of telling them what he’s doing in his head for a moment before coming to a decision. “I’m sending a letter to my parents.”</p><p> </p><p>Giovanni’s eyebrows shoot up and Molly tilts her head a little at the revelation.  Instead of replying they share a look between each other. They remember the day everything came out. A few days after their fight and the talk on the roof, Sylvie had quietly explained everything with a little more detail. His parents had opted out if his life early on and left for with very little reason, leaving him in the care of his uncle and hardly ever reaching out to him. Both knew how he felt about his absent guardians and so it was a surprise to hear him wanting to send a letter, of all things, to them.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Giovanni speaks first, devoid of all humor and teasing.</p><p> </p><p>He shrugs a little before rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, looking back up at them he explains. “I think it’s time. I’m going to tell them how I feel and be done with it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, but why a letter? That’s a little… old school, don’t you think?” Giovanni asks.</p><p> </p><p>“The letter’s more personal. It offers no chance to talk back, to argue, to explain. I just… want it to be done. <em>I’m </em>done.”</p><p> </p><p>Sharing another look with Giovanni, Molly steps forward. “Okay.” she says quietly. “Do you mind if we come and stay with you while you write?”</p><p> </p><p>He gives her a bewildered look. “Uh, not really? Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“’Cause kid. You look like you really need the company.”</p><p> </p><p>Sylvie looks at them in surprise for a moment before smiling a little. He rolls his eyes before turning on his heel to head to the front. “Well, if you’re coming, then come on.” He calls over his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>After making his purchase he begins to make his way back home, this time with company. They walk in comfortable silence for a while with the only sound coming from Giovanni’s slightly off tune whistling. When they make it to the front of his building, he gets the familiar feeling of apprehension in his stomach. Why was this so hard to do?</p><p> </p><p>“Sleeper?”</p><p> </p><p>Jumping slightly, Sylvie turns to see both Giovanni and Molly studying him. Molly’s brow is slightly creased, and Giovanni has one eyebrow raised.  </p><p> </p><p>“Yes?” he asks.</p><p> </p><p>“I think you need to unlock the door with a key?”</p><p> </p><p>Looking back, he sees that he was attempting to unlock the door by sliding his key card from work. He feels his face burn for the second time today as he quickly rectifies his mistake by grabbing his key from his pocket and unlocking the door. “I knew that. I was just distracted!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s obvious.”</p><p> </p><p>Still thoroughly embarrassed, he walks in without another word. “Okay, well there’s movies you can watch if you want or board games in the closet.” He shrugs off his coat and begins to make his way back to his room. “This probably won’t take too much longer, so feel free to do whatever.”</p><p> </p><p>He walks in and shuts the door before they can protest. He sighs and leans back to rest against the wood. “Okay,” he says out loud. “You can do this. Just get it over with so you can hang out with your friends, easy.”</p><p> </p><p>He pushes himself off the door and makes his way back to the desk. This time he switches a lamp on before sitting. Much better. Placing his paper down he pauses as he places his pen at the top. He thinks. And he thinks. And he thinks.</p><p> </p><p>Pushing back from his desk in frustration he places his head in his hands in defeat. Why couldn’t he do this? Was he scared? Was he worried about cutting the only people who were supposed to care about him out? Was he just going to have to be alone again? What!? He’s pulled out of his thoughts by a small knock at the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Sylvie?” Comes a faint voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes?” he calls back. “Is everything okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah! I was just letting you know Giovanni made soup! You looked hungry so we went ahead and made lunch. Is that okay?”</p><p> </p><p>He doesn’t say anything for a moment. They made lunch?  For him? He feels himself smile softly.  No, he definitely wasn’t alone anymore. “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be out in a moment.” He hears her walk away and leans against the back of the chair with a sigh. Grabbing his pen, he begins the letter for the last time.</p><p> </p><p>“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ashling….”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>20 minutes later Sylvie emerges from the room holding a small envelope in his hand. Molly and Giovanni look up as he walks out.</p><p> </p><p>“Finished already? Thought you’d be in there for the rest of the day.” Giovanni observed.</p><p> </p><p>Sylvie nods, before once again retrieving his coat from the back of the armchair. “All that’s left is to mail it. Would you like to come?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Giovanni stands and stretches while Molly puts on her bear coat. “Beats sitting around waiting for you to get back.”</p><p> </p><p>They all file out of the apartment and make their way back to the main road. “What exactly are you telling your ‘rents that’s making it so hard?”</p><p> </p><p>He shrugs. “I’m just letting them know that I’m done trying to have a relationship with them. I don’t want to see them or hear from them again. Not that I haven’t seen them for a while, it’s just that this is making it a little more official.”</p><p> </p><p>They seem satisfied with the response, and they walk in companionable silence until they reach the mailbox. He slides open the mouth, and with finality drops it in. “Done.” He feels light. Like a heavy weight he didn’t know was there had been lifted from his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” Molly asks</p><p> </p><p>He thinks about it for a moment before answering. “Yes.” He turns and begins walking back the way they came; he hears the other two fall in step beside him. “The chances of them opening that letter and actually caring about what it says are slim,” He says quietly. He gives them both a determined look. “But, I don’t care. I had to say it, even if they couldn’t care less about me, I want them to know that I don’t need them. Besides,” he looks away embarrassed “I have you two…”</p><p> </p><p>“Awwww, Sleeper!” he looks up in time to see the fluff of Giovanni’s coat before he’s pulled into a tight bear hug. He squawks in protest when he’s almost lifted off his feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Giovanni! What are you doing!?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hugging you, obviously!”</p><p> </p><p>He kicks his feet a little in a poor attempt to get free. “Molly, help!”</p><p> </p><p>She laughs. “Nope!” as she latches into his front and squeezes back. “It’s time for healing hugs! You told me that physical contact was healthy for people, so you have to deal with it!”</p><p> </p><p>He struggles a bit more before sighing in defeat. “Alright, alright! Can we stop now? People are staring.”</p><p> </p><p>They both shake their heads. “Not a chance Sleeper! This is what family does! Embarrass each other!”</p><p> </p><p>He starts when he says it. Family? He smiles. Right, family. He pulls his arms free of Giovanni’s grip and puts his arms around them. He could get used to this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next and final chapter will be up in a few days, see you then!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Irascible</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Giovanni's old man comes for a visit. It goes...less than well.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Irascible: having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ha! Got you!” Giovanni crows victoriously, “You have to be faster than that if you want to beat me!”</p><p>Sylvie huffs in annoyance as he drops his controller in defeat. “You have to be cheating, no one is that good.” He reaches over to try and steal Giovanni’s own controller, “Let me see that, I want to inspect it.”</p><p>“Nuh-Uh,” Giovanni tuts, “You’re only saying that cause you suck!” he holds the controller out of reach with a smirk. “Maybe you should practice more!”</p><p>Sylvie tries in vain to reach for the device, Giovanni holding it well out of reach with his much longer arms. Leaning across Giovanni’s lap Sylvie attempts to snatch it from him but is foiled as the controller is swapped hands suddenly. “Some of us don’t have time to play video games all day!” Sylvie pounces on the arm holding the controller and works to pry Giovanni’s fingers from the plastic.</p><p>“Hey! I don’t play all day!” </p><p>“No, just most of it! You’ve become lazy since you quit the blasters.” </p><p>Giovanni attempts to shove Sylvie away by pushing against his face, “You’re just a sore loser!” unbeknownst to the bickering pair they were both dangerously close to the edge of the couch as they both wrestled for the controller. </p><p>“No! You’re just cheating!” Sylvie manages to pry one finger from the controller, but in the struggle pushes them even closer to the edge. Giovanni is the first to notice how close they are to toppling over off and stiffens in alarm.</p><p>“Kid wait!” he squeaks but Sylvie either doesn’t hear him or chooses to ignore him. With one last jerk he manages to steal the controller and holds it up triumphantly. His victory is short lived though as he notices their predicament too late.  Giovanni slips off first scrabbling for a hold on the old couch while Sylvie attempts to right himself. He almost manages to save himself as he pinwheels desperately to keep his balance, but he feels a tug on the back of his coat and slips at the last second with an indignant squawk. He lands hard on Giovanni’s stomach, knocking the air out of him with a strained huff. “Kid…” he groans, “Are you trying to kill me?” </p><p>Sylvie lets out another incensed sound, “I don’t even weigh that much! Besides, you pulled me down!”</p><p>“I was trying to keep myself from falling!” he sits up to shove Sylvie off, “Besides, we wouldn’t have fell if you hadn’t started climbing all over me!”</p><p>“Well congrats, you brought me down with you instead, and we wouldn’t have fallen if you’d just let me see it.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean to, and besides,” he holds the controller up victoriously, “you’re just mad I won.” </p><p>Sylvie opens his mouth to reply, but before the mock argument can continue, they both hear a heavy sigh from the other side of the room. Looking over they see Molly sitting in the armchair looking at the pair with an exasperated expression. Looking closer they also realize she had placed them inside the silent bubble.</p><p>They smile sheepishly at her and she rolls her eyes with a smirk before dispelling the bubble. Standing from the chair she steps forward and neatly plucks the controller from Giovanni’s hand who lets out a small surprised protest. “If you guys aren’t going to play nicely then I’m just going to take it.”</p><p>They both open their mouths to object, but she cuts them off, “No buts! We didn’t come here so you guys could fight.” </p><p>“C’mon Bear Trap.” Giovanni whines. </p><p>“Nope.” She sticks her tongue out at him, “We get to do what I want to do now.” </p><p>Sylvie interjects, “What do you want to do then?” </p><p>Molly smiles mischievously. “We’re going to read.” She holds out a large book with flourish. The cover read ‘The History of Sewing’ in plain block text. “I need to learn some new techniques.”</p><p>Giovanni groans, “This is my house though!”</p><p>“And I’m your guest, so you have to listen to me.”</p><p>“Sleepers my guest too, though. Shouldn’t we ask him?” </p><p>They both turn to look at him. He holds his hands out defensively, “Don’t drag me into your argument!”</p><p>Molly looks back at Giovanni smugly, “Guess we’re doing my idea after all</p><p>Giovanni’s cut off from begging her to please choose anything else by two sharp knocks at the door. All three turn to stare at the source of the sound in confusion. “Are you expecting anyone?” Sylvie asks.</p><p>Giovanni shakes his head and stands up, “Nope. Mom would have said if she was waiting for something and Krystal said she wouldn’t be back till tonight.” Making his way over, he curiously peeks through the blinds beside the door. After a moment, Molly and Sylvie hear him suck in a sharp breath. He seems to consider something briefly as his shoulders bunch with tension before turning to the pair watching him closely. </p><p>“Stay here.” He says curtly before flinging the door open and stepping out. They share a look and scramble up to follow him, directly disobeying his request. Peering outside, they see Giovanni face to face with a middle-aged man with light red hair. </p><p>“Dad? What are you doing here?” They turn to scrutinize Giovanni after his unusual outburst. He looked uncomfortable, he was stiff, and his hands were tightly clenched at his sides. They share another look before they both step out awkwardly onto the front porch. </p><p>The man turns his head to glance over them and gives them a small wave, “Hey kids. Why don’t you go back inside while me and my kid here have a talk?” When neither move to go, the man simply shrugs and turns back to Giovanni, he hardly begins to speak again before Giovanni cuts him off. Moving to block his view of the two he repeats his earlier question.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” They can’t see his face, but his voice sounds strained.</p><p>The man holds his hands up placatingly, “Whoa, whoa. Kid, I just wanted to come see you.” He lightly punches him in the shoulder. “I was in the area and thought, ya know, why not?”</p><p>“Sorry if that’s a little hard to believe, pops. You don’t come around for years and all of a sudden you want to…what? Hang out? We both know you’re only here ‘cause you want something. So I’m gonna say it one more time: what do you want?”</p><p>The man is undeterred by Giovanni’s aggression. “C’mon bud. I haven’t seen you or your mother in years...”</p><p>“And whose fault is that? You made your decision to run off so now you have to deal with it.”</p><p>“Now, kid-”</p><p>“Stop.” Giovanni was shaking now. “I don’t want to hear it!”</p><p>The man’s face turns sour and his answer is dark “Alright then-“</p><p>At this point, Molly senses that things are about to get ugly and decides to step forward. “Giovanni?” she calls quietly.</p><p>Sylvie grabs her sleeve and attempts to pull her back, “Molly, what do you think you’re doing?”</p><p>She ignores him and focuses on Giovanni. When she called out to him, he finally turns to look at the both of them. They both stiffen at his expression; he’s clearly upset but they discern a darker emotion swirling underneath the desperation. He’s angry, angrier than either of them had ever seen him, even when he and Sylvie had fought months ago.  This time both Molly and Sylvie step forward.</p><p>Sylvie calls out to him, “Giovanni? I think you should come back inside,” He turns to address the older man. “And I think you should leave.”</p><p>“Oh~!” The man pulls a faux shocked expression as he shoulders Giovanni away to step closer to the pair, “You think I should leave?” he clutches his chest in mock hurt. They both share a glance before meeting the man’s gaze unflinchingly. </p><p>“Hey!” Giovanni’s outburst gets the man’s attention and he turn his head to look at him, “Don’t talk to either one of them! Don’t even look at them!” grabbing his shoulder he pulls the man back roughly so he’s once again face to face with him. “You’re gonna tell me what the hell you want and then you’re gonna leave.”</p><p>His father’s face is stony, and he cocks his head to the side slightly as he considers Giovanni. “Ya know kid. You’ve really developed an attitude.” </p><p>Giovanni scowls back at him, “Surprised you noticed, considering you haven’t even been around in, what? 8 years? 9?”</p><p>The man chuckles to himself and the sound causes the pair on the porch to stiffen and the hair on their arms to raise. It was not a pleasant sound, it was dangerous and cold. They silently agree to something unsaid before stepping fully off the porch but not coming any closer to the man. “Boss, can we please go back inside?” Molly asks desperately “Please?”</p><p>The man once again snaps over to glare at them and bellows a rough, “SHUT IT,” causing the pair to jump. He turns back to Giovanni with a glower. “Listen kid. I don’t know where you get off thinking you can talk to me like this but just ‘cause your whore mother decided to put a bunch of ideas in your head doesn’t mean you can treat me like I’m some kind of bad guy.”</p><p>Molly sucks in a sharp breath at the same time as Sylvie. They see Giovanni unfold his arms and step even closer, so they’re nose and nose now. He continues in a low and dangerous voice, “Mom didn’t need to put anything in my head when you decided to walk off. I figured out you’re a piece of crap all on my own. Just cause you wanna be a good for nothin’ deadbeat don’t mean I have to show you any respect for it.”</p><p>“Maybe it’s about time I taught you how to show some then, huh?”</p><p>“Try it!” He growls dangerously.</p><p>“Okay, that’s enough.” With a small wave of his hand Sylvie summons a flock of sheep to surround the two men. Two grab Giovanni by the back of his jacket and begin to gently, but firmly, pull him away. The others work to push the older man back to create some distance between them. Unfortunately, the sheep didn’t seem to deter the man much, as he began to physically force his way through the throng, kicking and shoving sheep away. He inches his way forward until he manages to grab onto Giovanni’s jacket. “You aren’t goin’ anywhere, I wasn’t done talking to you!”  </p><p>Giovanni begins to feel unbalanced from the tug of war between the counting sheep tugging insistently at the back of his coat and his father yanking on the collar. He turns to Sylvie as best he can and calls, “Kid! I appreciate the help but-“</p><p>“I’ll send them away, but you have to promise to end this confrontation, Giovanni. It’s gone on long enough.” At the man’s nod, Sylvie reluctantly unsummons the flock. </p><p>Giovanni lets out a sigh of relief before turning back to the older man, his gaze hardening considerably. “We’re done here.” shoving the man’s hands off his jacket he turns and begins to walk back towards Sylvie and Molly. “C’mon you two. Let’s go back inside.” He doesn’t get very far though when the other man grabs his arm roughly and yanks him back. </p><p>“I wasn’t finished talking to you!” he growls.</p><p>Giovanni attempts to rip his arm back and turns to snarl at the man “Let go, before I make you!”</p><p>Molly had had enough and rushes forward before Sylvie can stop her, “Let go of him!” she demands desperately.</p><p>Sylvie lets out a surprised bark before also running forward. “Molly don’t!”</p><p>Molly ignores him and firmly latches onto the man’s other arm to pull him away. “He doesn’t want to talk to you, so just leave!”</p><p>The older man growls at her viciously, “Let go you brat.”</p><p>“No! Not until you agree to leave!”</p><p>Releasing Giovanni, who stumbles back, not expecting the sudden release, the man turns to pry her off, but feels someone tackle his other arm before he can even raise his arm.</p><p>“Oh no you don’t! She’s right! You need to leave!” Sylvie snaps angrily.</p><p>Giovanni attempts to intervene by grabbing Sylvie around the waist to pry, him off, “Guys! You need to stop. I can handle it!”</p><p>As the man gets jerked from the pair on his left and the annoying girl on his right, his frustration builds. Kicking Giovanni in the stomach to push him back, he sharply whips his arm to dislodge Molly who lands a few feet back, landing hard on her rear end. He attempts to do the same to Sylvie, but he only tightens his grip, “Stupid brat, just let go!” </p><p>Sylvie says nothing, and only shakes his head determinedly. “Ugh! Just!” he strains against the little brat, “Let!” He yanks back, “Go!” with one final shout he cracks his fist against Sylvie’s face.</p><p>The reaction is instantaneous. Sylvie lets go with a cry and falls back clutching his nose as bright blood seeps through the cracks of his fingers. Molly lets out a startled shout, darting from behind the man to skid to a stop beside ailing boy.  “Sylvie!? Sylvie! Are you okay?”</p><p>He doesn’t have time to hear what else they’re going to say before he hears an enraged roar. He’s suddenly hefted forward and comes face to face with Giovanni’s livid face, “What the fuck is wrong with you!?”</p><p>“He wouldn’t let go! I-I-I didn’t really mean to hit him! It was-“</p><p>“I don’t give a damn! You had no right-!”</p><p>“None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me!”</p><p>With a sharp crack, Giovanni’s father is suddenly thrown back. Clutching his suddenly sore cheek, he looks up at his son, his form heaving with each harsh breath. </p><p>If looks could kill... the man thought as Giovanni glares down at him, “No! You don’t get to come here and demand crap! And,” He gesture behind him at the two still on the ground, “You don’t get to beat up anyone you want to get your way!”</p><p>He takes a threatening step forward, so he towers over the figure on the ground. “What I just gave you was a warning. If you ever touch those kids again…” he lets the threat hang in the air. He spits off to the side like he’s trying to clear a bad taste in his mouth before turning his back on him. He growls over his shoulder at the hunched figure, “Get outta here before I call th’ cops. I don’t ever want to see you again.” The man doesn’t reply, and, after a silent moment, Giovanni hears him stand and walk away. </p><p>Sighing to release the tension in his shoulders he finally turns his attention to the pair huddled in the grass. Crouching down on Sylvie’s other side, Giovanni begins to assess the damage as best he can. The dream caster still has his face in his hands and hinders Molly’s every attempt to pry them away. </p><p>Giovanni sighs again before gently taking either of Sylvie’s hands to try and pry them away from his face himself, “Alright Sleeper, you gotta show me the damage.” The kid fights him at first, but with both Molly and Giovanni’s insistence he finally surrenders and allows them to remove the appendages from his face, giving them full view of the damage. </p><p>Molly covers her hands with her mouth and Giovanni hisses through his teeth as they get a good look. Blood had stained everything from his nose down and was still leaking slowly from his nostrils. One eye was slightly swollen in what looks like the beginning of a black eye. “Damn Sleeper, looks like he really got you good.” Taking his chin to tip Sylvie’s face back slightly he takes a closer look. “He might have broken your nose…”</p><p>Sylvie groans slightly. “I really hope not.” He sputters as blood leaks its way into his mouth, before cringing and looking down, “Ugh, why does it hurt so much?”</p><p>“Guessin’ you’ve never been punched before huh?” Giovanni chuckles, “That’s a surprise considering how you act.”</p><p>Sylvie lets out an offended sound and begins to try and push Giovanni back indignantly, “Hey!”</p><p>“Sorry, sorry!” he grins, leaning back he stands and offers him a hand. “All you need is some ice and tissues. Nothin’ else we can really do other than that.”</p><p>Taking his hand, Sylvie allows Giovanni to pull him up; he wobbles a bit unsteadily but stays standing. Molly takes position on one side, while Giovanni takes the other, and together they all make their way back inside. Giovanni spots Sylvie’s glasses laying a few feet away. </p><p>“Wait.” Leaving Sylvie’s side, he walks over and stoops down to grab them. He glances over them to spot any possible damage and grimaces when he finds a bit of blood staining the lenses. He sighs and pockets them before making his way back to the pair.</p><p>At least they aren’t broken. </p><p>Once inside, they situate Sylvie on the armchair, Giovanni orders him to keep his head tilted back while he grabs a rag and some ice. </p><p>Molly leans over the armrest of the chair to peer closer as they wait for Giovanni to return. She grimaces at the sight of his bruised and bloodied face, “Does it still hurt?”</p><p>Pinching his nose to keep anymore blood from leaking onto his shirt he shakes his head. “I can’t really feel anything anymore. Maybe I’m getting used to it?”</p><p>“More like going into shock…” she mumbles. She looks away “Sorry…”</p><p>He tilts his head questioningly, “For what?”</p><p>“For,” she gestures at his face, “for this. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I hadn’t jumped in”</p><p>Sylvie shrugs, “It’s not like you made me jump in too. Besides he was the one who hit me.”</p><p>“Yeah but-“</p><p>“Molly I’m telling you it isn’t your fault. I would have probably gotten involved even if you hadn’t.”</p><p>“But I-“</p><p>“Molly.” He looks at her chidingly</p><p>She finally concedes with a nod, but looks less than convinces. They sit in silence before Sylvie asks, “Do you really think I’m going into shock?” </p><p>“It’s a broken nose, kid, you’ll be fine,” Giovanni answers as he walks back holding an ice pack in one hand and a rag in the other. He hands them both to Sylvie before throwing himself on the couch with a heavy sigh. “Today really sucked.” Rummaging in his pockets he produces Sylvie’s glasses, “Found these by the way. Looks like they aren’t broken or anything, so that’s a plus at least.” he tosses them.</p><p>Sylvie fumbles a bit before managing to grab them. “Thanks.” He hooks them on his coat before also leaning back. </p><p>No one says anything for a moment, silence hanging heavy in the air after. A day that had started out so light-hearted ruined by the actions of one man. </p><p>Sighing, Molly joins Giovanni on the couch, exhausted. “So.” she says </p><p>Giovanni tilts his head toward her “So?”</p><p>Biting her lip, she considers him from the corner of her eye. “So…I think we need to talk about what just happened.” Looking away from him she begins, “Who was that? He called you his son…”</p><p>Giovanni grows quiet at the question, before he leans his head back against the top of the couch and answering, “Yeah, that was my old man,” he confirms.</p><p>“What did he want?”</p><p>He gives a halfhearted shrug from his boneless position. “Don’t know…probably money.” He thinks for a moment, “Definitely money.”</p><p>He leans forward with a groan and holds his face in his hands. “God, today really, really sucked”</p><p>“You already said that.” Sylvie pipes up, his voice congested from the rag covering his nose.</p><p>Looking up at him, Giovanni gives him an unimpressed to look, “Thank you captain obvious”</p><p>Sylvie shrugs, “He punched me; I’m allowed to be sarcastic.”</p><p>Instantly Giovanni’s face falls. He looks down at the floor in guilt. “Yeah, I know…” Over his shoulder Molly throws her arms up in exasperation at him. Sylvie throws his free hand up in response.</p><p>‘I was joking’ he mouths.</p><p>Molly points at Giovanni, ‘Say something,’ she mouths back </p><p>‘Like what!’</p><p>‘Anything!’</p><p>“You know you guys aren’t exactly silent right?” </p><p>They both freeze when Giovanni speaks. He sits up with a heavy sigh, “Sleeper didn’t say nothin’ wrong.” He turns to look at Sylvie and cringes, “I’m…really sorry”</p><p>“It’s not like you’re the one who did it,” Sylvie quickly reassures him.</p><p>“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have let you guys get involved.”</p><p>Molly jumps in defensively, “You didn’t make us do anything! That guy definitely had it coming, he was being a jerk!”</p><p>“Yeah but-“</p><p>“No buts!”  Jumping off the couch Molly stands in front of Giovanni. She slaps both hands on his face; smooshing his cheeks, she forces him look up at her. “You help keep us safe all the time! You tell people off for us! And I’m sure if someone ever treated us like your dad did to you, you would do exactly what we did! So, no arguing!”</p><p>Giovanni’s eyes are wide. He cuts his eyes over to Sylvie with raised eyebrows. He simply shrugs, “She said it better than I could.” He stands and places his free hand on his shoulder, “You know, you really shouldn’t argue with her, she always wins.”</p><p>Still at a loss for words Giovanni looks between the two. After a moment of silence, he begins to chuckle. He gently pries Molly’s hands off his face and inconspicuously rubs his eyes. “You’re right.” he stands and places his hands on his hips. He considers the pair in front of him, one little girl looking up at him, copying his pose with her hands on her hips and a look as if she was daring him to argue and one ‘not kid’ holding a bloody rag in one hand and eyes bright with resolve. Smiling he places a hand on each of their shoulders, “You guys are the best minions a guy could ask for.” </p><p>“I am not your minion!” </p><p>Giovanni laughs again before pulling the pair into a hug, “Don’t fight it Sleeper”</p><p>Sylvie attempts to push him away, “No! you don’t get to hug us to get away with it! You aren’t even apart of the Blasters anymore anyway!” Giovanni doesn’t budge and after a moment he sighs and gives up.  “I’m not committing any crimes with you…”</p><p>“That’s the spirit kid! Alright!” Giovanni pulls back from the hug, “I’m gonna do what I probably should have been doin’ this whole time and make you some healing soup!”</p><p>Sylvie makes an affronted sound “Why weren’t you doing that before?”</p><p>“I honestly forgot!” Giovanni laughs.</p><p>Sylvie’s mouth drops open as he watches Giovanni run to the kitchen. He turns to Molly in disbelief, “He is unbelievable.”</p><p>She doesn’t say anything, instead she giggles a little and shrugs. She falls once again on the couch and after a moment she feels him sit beside her. They lean comfortably against the back of the couch as they wait for Giovanni. “Are we going to keep talking about what happened?” Sylvie asks.</p><p>She shakes her head, “No, I think if he wants to tell us more, he will.”</p><p>Sylvie inclines his head, “Fair enough. It’s unfortunate that his father acts like that though.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Molly answers thoughtfully, “none of us seem to have the best of luck with parents, huh?”</p><p>He snorts and winces as it aggravates his nose, “Yes, it appears that way doesn’t it.”</p><p>“But, at least he has his moms.” She adds, “and us.”</p><p>“Yes,” he agrees as Giovanni begins to softly hum from the kitchen, “he has us too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter 3 of 3! There's still a larger fic in progress right now, but there's about 4 chapters done out of about 10 to 15! So expect that in the future. Thanks for reading and your comments! Every comment is read, I'm just too socially awkward to properly formulate a reply, but I deeply appreciate each one. It keeps me going, particularly the frequent commenters. Thank you!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As I've said I've been working on this beside a large fic that I'm excited to begin posting! Hopefully the fandom will still be somewhat active by the time I finish. Hope to see you then!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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